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Myaani
Cunning, brave, treacherous, wise - all of these words have been used to describe the curious (in all senses of the word) race known as the Myaani. For indeed, the Myaani embody all of these words, each in their own way, and likely never without earning them. Like humans - and so many other races - the Myaani are a widely diverse people that cannot be fully characterized with a single word. Each Myaani approaches the mysteries of life in their own unique way, but though they are a scattered and varied people, all of them tend to share certain things in common: a longing for spiritual equanimity, a lust to understand the world around them, and the development of a philosophy that brings them harmony within. With this in mind, it is no wonder that the Myaani are usually considered closer to nature than other civilized races, having pondered where they belong in life, and how they should relate to this world they have been thrust into. Some suggest that it might be their bestial side drawing them toward this way of life. Regardless of philosophy, this bestial side takes a quite obvious physical manifestation: with the head, tail, and fur of a fox clad upon an otherwise humanoid physique, there has never been any doubt that the Myaani are a step closer to a more primal state of the world than humans, elves, Krov, or Kobolds. Because of this, they are considered a part of the 'beast-folk' races, the other two being the Murroks and the Eiei. Sociology Although all Myaani find closer bonds to each other over other races, they are separated far from one another in four main tribes. While they all find fascination in pondering the riddles of life and existence, four main conclusions to these questions have driven them apart, sociologically as well as geographically... or even biologically. Tu Myaa The bravest, strongest, and fiercest of them all, are attributes that can only belong to the Tu Myaa. These Myaani have looked upon the world that surrounds them, and found that nature lives by one central creed: 'the strongest survives'. Having seen how the weaker creatures fade away into extinction, and the stronger creatures are hurled to the top of the food chain, the Tu Myaa have chosen to take this creed to its logical conclusion, and embraced it for what it is. They have ascended this doctrine to what other folk would call 'war', but to a Tu Myaa is so much more than that. War, as most other races would understand it, is a clash between military forces on basis of political dispute, but the Tu Myaa consider themselves to be constantly at war, even in times of military peace. 'War' to a Tu Myaa, is as much a way of life and a state of mind as it is bloodshed on the battlefield. Their definition of 'war' is the act of encouraging conflict in all possible forms, so that the strongest of the combatants may rise toward excellence. Among other things, this means a Tu Myaa must battle their own inner doubts and fears, so as to either defeat them and become stronger, or succumb to them and die. It also means engaging in philosophical arguments with other Tu Myaa, so that the wisest idea of them all may rise above the others - this, among other ways, is how the Tu Myaa elect their chieftain. And naturally, it also means what it is traditionally considered: military force, and the Tu Myaa are certainly not lacking in this part either, posing a tremendous threat to whomever ruffles their fur the wrong way. Thus the Tu Myaa now all strive toward becoming warrior-philosophers: equally parts wise and menacing. The Tu Myaa have their capitol, Iwama Ruuma, in the north-western part of The Fairlands. Ruutwe The Ruutwe are perhaps the most notorious of the four Myaani tribes. They are certainly the most despised. Unlike the other tribes, the Ruutwe are only loosely connected to one another, and have no chieftain to rule over them all, nor a capitol or even a homeland. What binds the Ruutwe together are instead a mutual interest in pursuing limitless individualism and radical freedom. The Ruutwe are often considered the troublesome and pestering younger sibling of the Myaani tribes, which is at least partly true, as they are the youngest tribe of all four. While the other tribes base their philosophical ways in different interpretations of the natural world, the Ruutwe base theirs more on a critique of nature's antithesis: civilization. The Ruutwe saw how enslaving the civilized world could be, how organizing life into strict hierarchies and systems only put chains on the individual. Greatest among their points of critique is the point of what property is: where the civilized world regards property as something that is inherently bound to one or more persons, acquired either through money or other means, and is somehow magically inseparable from that/those person(s), the Ruutwe disregard that notion through and through. Almost as it to demonstrate how vague, fragile, and meaningless this notion of property is, the Ruutwe thoroughly enjoy stealing everything their can get their hands on, and preach their philosophy through deeds rather than words. But if they were asked to put words on it, they would likely say that to cling to property, and to let it dominate your existence, is like a ship dragging an anchor - only by letting it go, can the individual sail freely. In the eyes of the Ruutwe, there are individuals and there are objects, and individuals can utilize objects, but the line between object and individual must never become blurred, lest a society will begin to judge an individual's worth not based on who they are, but what they own. This is exactly what the Ruutwe believe the civilized notion of property does. In fact, they believe this blurred line between individual and object to be a horribly oppressive doctrine in civilized society, as at its logical conclusion, it turns individuals into objects. In other words: slavery. The Ruutwe, being a vagabond tribe with no homeland or capitol, are often found sticking around with families in their caravans, wandering from place to place, peddling goods from far-off lands, arranging circuses, or filching wherever they get the chance. Yaal-qui As all four tribes base their philosophy on the lessons of nature - or a critique of its opposition - so too have the Yaal-qui examined nature and drawn their conclusions. The Yaal-qui Myaani have found their purpose in the virtues of adaptation and evolution, two key aspects and functions of the natural world, and turned them into a way of life. The Yaal-qui are considered the oldest of the four tribes, being the first one to split itself apart from other Myaani and establish itself as an independent faction, and therefore also often attributed to being the wisest. However, though they are the oldest, they have absolutely no ties to old traditions or customs, turning their eyes to the future instead of the past. The core philosophy of the Yaal-qui is to behold what they might become, rather than what they once were. Therefore, the Yaal-qui have embraced change as a force of nature, and learned to become heralds and wielders of it, often to a measure some would consider quite extreme. This philosophy of evolution and change manifests through an affinity for nature magic, which they use to alter and evolve themselves and their surroundings. They employ transformation magic to become everything they need to be, and to drive forward biological progress, enhancing and augmenting themselves with no end point in sight. In truth, there is no end to the progress of the Yaal-qui, nor do they wish to find one, for the whole idea of a 'final stage' contradicts the fundamental principals of adaptation and evolution. For the Yaal-qui, it is not the destination that matters, but the journey. The Yaal-qui are a staunchly collectivist and isolationist society residing deep in the woods of Lumion, where they foster and augment their tribe as a whole, pushing the boundaries of evolution for everyone in it. The tribe is guided by a single supreme chieftain who decides what direction the tribe must evolve towards, and manages all relations with the outside world, few and rare as they are. Amiq-wiil The Amiq-wiil stands as the only tribe among the four whose core philosophy does not support or otherwise seek to emulate nature, but on the contrary, strives towards its total annihilation. It is true that all four tribes have examined nature and tried to learn its lessons, and so too has the Amiq-wiil, but rather than finding these lessons worth pursuing, they instead found that they are worth destroying. The Amiq-wiil, much like the Ruutwe, yearn for freedom, but unlike the Ruutwe, the Amiq-wiil have identified the greatest oppressor of all: nature itself. For nature itself, according to the Amiq-wiil, is nothing but a set of rules, a cage, a framework that limits true and unbridled freedom. The laws of nature are exactly that: laws. The mad ambitions of the Amiq-wiil are to undo nature as a whole, burn its book of laws and write their own, become true masters of their own world. Unfortunately for them, there are many who stand in their way, so they have been forced to find some unconventional allies in the north: the Vándr. The Amiq-wiil saw that the Vándr were a force utterly dedicated to an apocalyptic annihilation of the natural world, and therefore traveled north to seek them, and to make allies with them. Astoundingly, it worked. The shamans of the Amiq-wiil spoke with someone - or something - far beyond what has been mapped in the north, someone called 'The Cold Mother', and forged an alliance with her. But as the price for such an alliance, the Cold Mother branded them as forever hers: as soon as the alliance was made, the entire tribe's fur immediately turned white as snow, and all their descendants would be born with this very same color of fur. Since that day, all other tribes shunned the Amiq-wiil, and told their young to always beware the white-furred ones. Religion Although the philosophies of each tribe may at times seem rather religious, all tribes nonetheless share a common view on how the divine works. Unlike the humans, who believe in a set of twelve supreme gods, the Myaani see a near-infinite wealth of spirits, none of which are raised above the others. They look upon the night sky and see millions of stars, not just twelve. Rather than selecting a handful of deities to worship, they worship whichever one they need the most - if a Myaani needs a bountiful harvest, they'll pray to the spirit of the earth, or the plants; if a Myaani needs to sail somewhere, they'll pray to the wind or the ocean; and so on. The twelve human gods may be mighty, but as the Myaani say, a lion may be fierce and terrifying, but in the ways of logging, it will be outmatched by the beaver every time. Sometimes, certain Myaani families grow to have an affinity for certain spirits, and will raise totem poles in their honor, whether it is where their help was the most useful, or just outside the family home, so that the worshippers might say their thanks whenever they leave it. The Tu Myaa in particular will raise totems on a field of victory, not only to praise the spirit who helped them achieve that victory, but also to show to many generations thereafter the might of the Tu Myaa. It is also common practice that an individual Myaani will carve small charms representing their favorite spirits and weave these charms into their manes, so that they might always honor these spirits, even without saying prayers. Unlike the humans, again, the Myaani do not believe in a heaven nor a hell, but believe that a deceased Myaani will join the earth, the winds, and the waters in death. Their soul will slowly come apart and become indistinguishable from the rest of the natural world, where they then serve to make the natural world more favorable toward those they loved in life. Shamans will often claim that they have heard the voices of the dead in the wind, or heard their footsteps on the ground, and they will take this as a good omen, as it means that nature will be favorable toward them, in that moment. History The creation of the Myaani is one of the most enigmatic and mystery-shrouded of them all. Documented history shows that the Myaani did not exist under the Gaun Eil imperialism, but existed after the gods had wiped the world clean of all humanity. The first recorded meeting with a Myaani is in the early years of the Elven Genesis, where Dawn Elves encountered these strange creatures in the Fairlandish hills. At this time, the Myaani had a language, but barely any concrete form of society, and were largely considered no different from wild beasts - much in the same way the Dawn Elves treated the Murroks. However, excavations of old Myaani bones revealed that they had existed before the Dawn Elves, yet after the Gaun Eil, which means that the Myaani had to be created sometime during the Silent Years, where (allegedly) no civilized race existed. How they came to be remains a question yet unanswered, but there are those who propose that the druids - who had survived the divine extinction event of 623 - perhaps were behind their creation. Oral traditions among the Myaani themselves do not reveal much, but some researchers in this field suggest that if indeed the druids had created them, it may have been an attempt to create a civilized race more respectful toward nature, after having seen the destruction the Gaun Eil and their wild technology had wrought. Unfortunately, all these questions remain unanswered, and may well remain like that for all foreseeable future. Around the middle of the Elven Genesis, when the Dawn Elves had migrated far and wide, and were working on terraforming their homeland, Elfwood, the Myaani convened and established the first of their tribes: the Yaal-qui. This tribe settled down in the woods of Lumion after a philosophical dispute with other Myaani, and quickly began isolating themselves from the outside world, and cultivating their practices of evolution and transformation. One such transformation took place when the Dawn Elves appeared in these parts of Shey, and though the Yaal-qui were skeptic at first, they grew to admire the Dawn Elves' desire to harness and alter the natural world for themselves. Together, they explored what boundaries of nature could be pushed, and eventually came to change the forest of Lumion to be what it is today: nigh-immortal with leaves that turn blue at night. They found further common ground in their fascination of the night sky, and established something of a minor religion for it, which they shared. The interaction between the Fairlandish Myaani and the humans was not nearly so peaceful, unfortunately. In the early years of the Age of Rebirth, when the druids began to leave the forests to establish the Fairlandish clans and join forces with the newly arrived generation of humans, they found that they would have to share territory with the native Myaani. This did not suit them well. At first, raiding parties harassed the fragmented Myaani people, but the desire for domination quickly overcame the clans as well, who collaborated to hunt down and enslave the local Myaani. This persisted for several decades, but just as it seemed that the clans had conquered every last bit of land, enslaved every last Myaani, the bravest and strongest of the enslaved joined forces and created the Tu Myaa, a rebel tribe seeking freedom and emancipation. Even the druids joined in the war that followed, making it a bloody three-front war that lasted another decade. Once grave losses had been suffered on all sides, a peace was forged under the tenth full moon of the year, which laid the ground for the Fairlandish human tradition of Caillon Aer. But the Tu Myaa tribe remained, preparing for the next time someone might try to enslave them. In wake of the rebirth of humans, the growth of the civilized world, and the threat of slavery against their kind, many Myaani began to yearn for a more radical form of freedom. Out of this new train of thought among the Myaani, two new tribes emerged: the Ruutwe and the Amiq-wiil, both with their own very different interpretation of freedom. While the Ruutwe shunned the human notion of civilization, because of how it limited the freedom of the individual, the Amiq-wiil saw unfreedom in everything, and shunned it all. Both the Ruutwe and the Amiq-wiil were created from Myaani leaving the other tribes, or the few Myaani who were in no tribe at all, but while the Ruutwe turned to live a peaceful life of wanderlust and caravans, the Amiq-wiil immediately turned to face down their previous brethren, accusing them of being protectors of an oppressive system: nature itself. Unfortunately for the Amiq-wiil, they were gravely outnumbered, and the war that followed was short-lived and decisive. The Amiq-wiil were defeated, banished, and driven from Myaani lands. Exiled, they traveled northward, where they found strange allies with the Vándr. To this day, the Amiq-wiil lick their wounds and plot a fearsome revenge, now with a truly apocalyptic force at their sides. Each year, it inches closer to realization.